Many successful programmers know more than just a computer language. They also know how to think about solving problems. They use "computational thinking": breaking a problem down into segments that lend themselves to technical solutions. Code Clinic is a series of six courses where lynda.com authors solve the same problems using different programming languages. Here, Kevin Skoglund works with Ruby.

Each month, Kevin will introduce a new challenge and provide an overview of his solution in Ruby, explaining how he broke the problem up into logical components, and revealing the difficulties he encountered. Challenges will include topics such as statistical analysis, searching directories for images, and accessing peripheral devices.Visit other courses in the series to see how to solve the exact same challenge in languages like C#, C++, Java, PHP, and Python. And check back every month for new challenges.